strange new header & blogging pattern

i know, i don't blog for 2 weeks then i come back and blog 3X in 2 days. can't really explain it, but sometimes uploading pictures is such an easy, tedious task.

and my new header, i love it! even though it's a bit strange. in case you can't tell, we're hoola hooping and kai is with a lighted one. i love how the light appeared around him, and also like that we are all in this photo. andy looks alittle buff the way he's standing which makes me laugh because he's not (which i'm happy about). you all should see him, he's lost more than 20 lbs in the past 2 months. wahhoooo daddy!

zaiah likes to pose

the lighting in these pictures is a little wonky, but i love all of them. mainly because she put this outfit together and she's wearing this crocheted hat from a friend of ours that she looks adorable in.


when she figured out i was taking pictures of her, she began to walk around and pose, asking me (non-verbally of course) to take more photos of her.

kai is 4!

it's taken me a while to post pictures ..... we celebrated kai's 4th birthday last week. on his birthday he said to me: "i don't feel like i'm 4." i guess he was hoping for some great growth spurt, or big jump from toddler-hood to boy-hood or something.

anyway, the celebration was memorable. a make-your-own pizza party and a pumpkin carrot cake. that ended up not really looking like a pumpkin, per the birthday boy's request.


when he woke up from his nap, we had this waiting for him:


a gift from us and many of our family members - thank you! luckily the weather has been mild and sunny this week so he's had some riding and digging time with it before winter sets in.

kai attends a montessori preschool, so we got to see how they celebrate birthdays. it's really a very sweet celebration. the entire class sits in a circle, and a candle is lit in the middle. the birthday child places each month around the circle and then walks around however many years he is. as he's doing this, the teacher reads the story of his life including accomplishments/ milestones for each year (we wrote this out). smiling, sitting, walking, driving :), riding a bike, writing his name, going to the potty, etc. etc. when she was reading, it was so shocking to think how much he has learned in 4 yrs! it makes it easier to understand the difficult stages and the fits, all that stuff that drives them and me crazy.

after this, the class sings to him. and the birthday child passes out a snack to each person and gives each person a hug. so sweet!


so hard to think that just 4 years ago he was a small infant that snuggled in my arms. so little. thank you for being in my life my sweet kai.

oh, and a happy belated thanksgiving to everyone!

friday night, pizza night?

we babysat my friend's kids the other night and we made personal pizzas. kids love this. and they can really do the whole thing except putting it in the oven. it was my first time making pizza dough from scratch. i'm thinking of starting a family tradition: friday night, pizza night. i can make a bunch of dough, freeze it, then defrost when needed. making it super easy.

one of my childhood memories going to grammy's house is she had so many traditions around meals. saturday night was steak night, saturday morning pancakes, friday was fish. i want to start traditions like that. so maybe i'll start with this for our little family. and when the kids get older it could turn into friday night pizza and movie night - yep, i like this idea.

he really thinks this works

andy brought home two flashing pens a couple weeks ago for the kids. one has mysteriously disappeared. i'm sure we'll find it some day under a dusty couch, or in a bush or tree. today zaiah asked to play with this flashing pen, and kai claimed it his. of course. so he quickly drew his name on the pen with a sharpie. this cracked me up because he has only recently discovered sharpies and the fact that they are permanent. and in a very matter-of-fact-brotherly way, told zaiah what this proclamation meant.

the moments of mine, mine, mine and sibling quarrels are a pain. yes. but when approached this way, it makes it kind of endearing. don't you think?

Hijacking the blog

Happy Birthday Mommy!!!!!!!!!!

We love you very, very, very, very much.

a big thank you

pure cuteness! that's all i have to say about these. thank you steph for making these for our little ones. i hope you're reading this. i was going to snail mail you a thank you but figured you are probably traveling by now.

a pink ghost & a pea pod

i couldn't stop taking pictures last night. they are so adorable! and as i sit here this morning, they still are wearing their costumes. and it's a miracle zaiah kept this hat on. in this photo, the body part is not on.

i have many more pictures i'll post later. i just wanted to get one of my favorite up.

hope your halloween was fun and tasty! and enjoy a weekend full of sugar high kiddos if you have some.